I am in the area where Hurricane Irene will pass by. It is supposed to be in our area in the next day or so, while I have prepared for it, I do not fear it.

Not because I believe that I am special or things don’t happen to me. No, I am not afraid because no matter how bad it gets, in the US we have the resources and desire to help those impacted by natural disasters. Yes, Katrina was a failure in that regard, but one that I don’t expect to be repeated for obvious political reasons.

In the last week I have been in the earthquake that rocked much of the East Coast, and now Hurricane Irene. While I am concerned about the impact this will have on peoples lives, and appreciate all the coverage, I can’t help but feel extraordinarily privileged.

I think of countries in the Caribbeen Sea that regularly face devastating hurricanes and weather. I rarely hear of the destruction of those events. Certainly now that it has happened to the US in unexpected ways, we might as a nation be more sensitive to the suffering of others. I often feel that the most difficult things in my life have made me more aware and sensitive to the plight of others. If we face something like an earthquake or hurricane for the first time, we certainly can better sympathize and prioritize the importance of disaster preparation for all humans.

I think the failure of sympathy in humans is the fact that our ideas of things rarely include a realistic experience because of the surprising nature of emotions. Sometimes our emotions surprise us in their intensity or realization of our own limitations. I for one have had expressed to me by others their fear of the upcoming storm. People fear for their lives, and I can understand how they feel that way when most of their life has been safe from natural disasters. It is with sympathy that you have to regard such people who have never had their life threatened before. For many of us including myself, mortal danger is something that is a part of our experience of life. This isn’t to glorify me, but to share rather than when you live with danger, it doesn’t have the same effect on you.

Isn’t it interesting that people who have the greatest fears, are rarely the same people who have things to fear? I see people everyday who do what I used to do. I used to drive a Volvo thinking that it would help me be safer. What gave me a feeling of safety was not the car however, but my own growing attitude that making peace with things gives you a peace that (I am pausing here to properly express this) makes you cry with joy when you contemplate it.

It has been the greatest thing in my life to be able to make peace with issues that I have absorbed from society. Peace is more than an emotional feeling or an intellectual certainty. Indeed, there is no certainty in life, but peace gives you the feeling that uncertainty is ok too. Peace is experiencing being a part of the universe in a fundamental way. If the storm comes and I die, then great. If I live, great. I do not feel pulled one way or another. I certainty enjoy being alive, but I will enjoy seeing what happens after life. If nothing happens after life, that is ok too. What really can I offer the universe but the return of star-dust from which I am made?